how was the IOT? i wanna join in a few years but i wonder what to expect. of course i know that you canât spill too much but i guess whatever youâre able to tell, im interested in hearing.
Full disclosure - I am no longer a member of the IOT. After about three years in the organization I was told, "I am not a good fit." As is usual with organizations like this, real reasons are not given. I am fairly certain I was jettisoned for political reasons. I was only a fourth degree, and so I could be removed without cause. However, I have a good friend who is a third degree who the organization was displeased with, and I am guessing throwing me out was a way for them to get him to quit. Or perhaps they saw my book - Emergent Magick - as an affront to them, or some kind of competition. It is not. I can think of no reason why a person could not do both. It may have been my critique of all organizations that have grade systems. If that is the case then they need to ask themselves why they can't withstand such a critique. in the end, I met some great people in the IOT, one I consider my best friend today. I also encountered people who went out of their way to disparage me and tell lies. Every organization has this, be prepared.
All that being said, I think my time in the IOT was valuable. I learned a lot. I also learned some things not to do. How much you learn from the IOT will depend on where you are in your practice. I do recommend that you go through and perform Liber MMM, that would be the first chapter in the book Liber Null and Psychonaut by Peter J. Carroll, as that is essentially the novitiate program of the IOT. You will need to do it again when you join, but at least you will have the practice.
I have been told that I was one of a small group of people who turned in an application online and was accepted. Almost everyone else got in because they knew someone in the organization. From what I experienced, I would say this is true. So your best bet for becoming a member is to know someone active in the IOT.
I have also been accused of discouraging people from joining the IOT. This is true, as I believed those people were joining for the wrong reasons. I don't know you, so I'm not here to convince you one way or another. Like I said, it really depends on who you are and where you are at in your practice.
I will say that you should be doing group magick. It will expand your experience greatly and make you a better magician. Whether that is through joining a group like the IOT or just getting together a group of friends to do magick, that's up to you.
